This invention pertains to a fluid flow distributor device and system for introducing feed and recycle fluid streams uniformly into a plenum and an ebullated catalyst bed of a reactor. It pertains particularly to such a flow distribution system for handling petroleum and coal-oil slurry and gas streams in which the flow is initially directed downwardly for substantially uniform mixing and flow distribution into an ebullated catalyst bed.
Experience in operating pilot plant and commercial reactors used in H-Oil.RTM. and H-Coal.TM. processes has shown that improper design of the inlet flow distribution in the reactor plenum can cause operational difficulties, such as coke formation in the plenum, flow maldistribution in the catalyst bed, localized catalyst bed slumping, and formation of coke in the bed. These problems have reduced catalyst utilization, and resulted in frequent reactor shutdowns and shortened periods of operation.
The prior art has apparently not provided an adequate solution to this flow distribution problem in fluidized bed catalytic reactors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,288 to Johanson shows a catalytic reactor configuration using simple conduits for introducing the inlet feed and recycle liquid into the reactor plenum chamber, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,603 to Keith, et al, shows use of dual spargers in the lower end of a reactor. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,995 to Wolk, et al generally discloses operation of a coal hydrogenation process using an ebullated catalyst bed reactor in which feed and recycle liquid streams are introduced into the reactor lower end plenum below a flow distribution grid means. However, introducing such gas and liquid streams into a reactor plenum at high velocity requires more specific arrangements for the streams to achieve adequate mixing and uniform flow distribution. For this reason, improved designs of flow distributor devices to provide desirably uniform flow patterns in the reactor plenum have now been developed.